Black Americans Deserve Better
For Immediate Release:
April 26, 2024
Statement attributable to: Yolanda Lawson, MD
President, National Medical Association
The Biden Administration, today, declared that it is delaying the proposed plan to ban menthol cigarettes. Menthol cigarettes have been proven, by decades of research, to be a deadly and addictive tobacco product that disproportionately affects Black communities. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has previously stated that prohibiting menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes would have significant public health impact. The National Medical Association (NMA) supports and will continue to advocate for the ban.
“We are disappointed with the action of the Biden Administration. We will continue to have Black children targeted for addiction and the health and lives of our patients ruined as long as the Administration delays a total ban on menthol,” said Dr. Mark A. Mitchell, Chair, Council on Environmental Health and Climate Change of the National Medical Association.
“Health-care advocates, including many Black physicians, have worked tirelessly toward a ban of menthol cigarette products,” said Dr. Yolanda Lawson, President of the National Medical Association. “Menthol enhances the effects of nicotine in brain function, making it highly addictive. Smoking especially harms Black communities and other vulnerable groups, and the tobacco industry must be held accountable for its direct marketing to Black adults and youth with ongoing campaigns since the 1960s.”
The NMA advocates for the FDA ban on menthol cigarettes as part of our crucial mission to eliminate health disparities that disproportionately affect Black communities. The NMA recently convened an important discussion around tobacco and the Black community that touched on the devastating impact of all tobacco products including menthol cigarettes. The CDC estimates that 40% of premature deaths due to menthol cigarette smoking in the U.S. from 1980 to 2018 were Black Americans. Additionally, Black men have the highest rates of lung cancer fatalities. Moreover, the FDA finds that a menthol ban would “reduce smoking initiation in youth, increase chances that current smokers quit, and would save lives.”
Banning menthol cigarettes would save 654,000 lives within 40 years, including the lives of 255,000 Black Americans. The act to approve this ban is critical and necessary for the overall betterment of racial equity within public health policy.
About the National Medical Association:
The NMA is the nation’s oldest and largest organization representing Black physicians and health professionals in the U.S. and promotes the collective interests of physicians and patients of African descent. We serve as the voice of Black physicians and a leading voice for parity in medicine, elimination of health disparities and promotion of optimal health. To learn more about the NMA, please visit https://www.nmanet.org.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bernadette Davis
469-290-4495
